The YouGov BrandIndex, which tracks companies' reputations on a daily basis, found that Ikea's "Buzz score" plunged from 14 to 4 after the horse meat controversy erupted.

"In light of the recent IKEA food challenges we have faced, we can understand that the perception of IKEA has gone down," Mona Liss, an Ikea spokesperson, said in a statement to The Huffington Post on Tuesday. "IKEA also aspires to be open, honest and transparent."

"When mistakes happen, we do everything we can do to quickly amend what has gone wrong," Liss added. "We hope that the strong measures we have taken, and continue to take to correct mistakes, will create trust in IKEA and impact the brand positively."

YouGov calculates Buzz scores by asking survey respondents: "If you've heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word of mouth, was it positive or negative?" Buzz scores range from -100 to 100, with positive scores signifying more positive feedback than negative feedback.

This isn't the only food-related problem Ikea has grappled with recently. Chinese authorities announced that they destroyed nearly two tons of Ikea chocolate cake because it contained an excessive amount of coliform bacteria, which is found in fecal matter.

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Companies With The Best Reputations

Ikea Horse Meat Controversy Hurts Company's Reputation: Analysis

Companies With The Best Reputations

Companies With The Best Reputations

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10. Costco

Reputation score: 77.95
2012 score: 76.72
Costco Wholesale Corp. ranks as the 10th most reputable company after ranking 19th among the 60 most visible firms in the U.S. last year. Much of this is based on strong customer admiration and respect as the company has the fifth-highest score for emotional appeal in Harris Interactive’s survey. The company’s customer satisfaction score, as measured by the ACSI, also reflects this. No other specialty retailer had a higher reputation quotient score than Costco in 2011, the most recent measurement available. Nearly 75% of customers surveyed in MSN Money and JZ Analytics customer satisfaction surveys rated Costco’s service as “great” or “excellent,” while only 4% gave it a “poor” grade. According to Glassdoor, employees also appreciate the company and its leadership, with 83% saying they would recommend the company to a friend and 93% approving of CEO Craig Jelinek.